Coral Reefs of the Western Pacific Ocean in a Changing Anthropocene

The monograph is based on the research and training activities in the Western Pacific Ocean Region within the umbrella of UNESCO/IOC-Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific Region. The results of these activities are compared to cases from other tropical and subtropical regions on this planet to make the knowledge applicable to global aspects of sustainability of coral reef ecosystems. In this monograph, we examine the coral reefs from viewpoint of multidisciplinary approaches, including, environmental impacts, coral biology and system ecology, biogeochemical cycles and processes that drive the material and energy flow through the food web, as well as the proxies in geochemistry that have been used to track the responses of coral reefs to the changing climate and human perturbations. Although this study is focused on the Western Pacific Ocean, the Western Pacific Ocean is so large and diverse that most reef environment types on this planet are located within it. Therefore, knowledge gained in this study is relevant to the application of coastal management in practice as well as in the teaching classes on the interactions between coral reef ecosystems with changing environments. Contents Contributors 1: Introduction and Background 1.1 International Workshops 1.2 IOC/WESTPAC Summer Training Courses Were Organised 1.3 This Monograph Is an Output from These Activities! References 2: Anthropogenic Environmental Impacts on Coral Reefs in the Western and South-Western Pacific Ocean 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 The Western and South-Western Pacific Region and the Coral Reefs 2.1.2 Population Change and Migration of People to Coastal Areas 2.1.3 Subsistence Living and Impacts of the Global Economic Situation on Reef Resources 2.1.4 Pollution from Small-Scale Developments 2.1.5 Shipping Impacts 2.1.6 Coastal City Expansion 2.1.7 Large Industry Impacts 2.1.7.1 Agriculture and Forestry 2.1.8 Tourism 2.1.9 Commercial Fishing Including Marine and Coastal Mariculture 2.1.10 Mining 2.1.11 Military Activities and Atomic Bomb Testing 2.1.12 Dredging and Dumping of Dredge Materials (Spoils) 2.2 Hydrodynamic Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Coral Reefs 2.3 Climate Change 2.4 Conclusions Appendix:Tribute to Dr. William G. L. (Bill) AALBERSBERG (1949-2018) References 3: Advances in Coral Biology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Coral Biology 3.2.1 Reproduction, Development, and Recruitment of Larvae 3.2.1.1 Coral Spawning 3.2.1.2 Fertilization 3.2.1.3 Hybridization 3.2.1.4 Embryonic Development 3.2.1.5 Recruitment 3.2.2 Coral Taxonomy and Species Identification 3.2.2.1 Molecular Taxonomy and Systematics 3.2.2.2 Population Genetics 3.3 Current Threats on the Health of Reef Corals 3.3.1 Coral Bleaching 3.3.1.1 Spatial and Temporal Variation 3.3.1.2 Causes, Mechanisms, and Consequences 3.3.2 Coral Diseases 3.3.2.1 Identification and Prevalence 3.3.2.2 Disease Transmission 3.3.2.3 Prevention and Therapy 3.4 Management Consideration Based on Coral Biology References 4: Reef Ecology in the Western Pacific for Adaptation to Global Change 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Coral Reef Biodiversity Decline and Extinction Risk 4.2.1 Coral Reef Biodiversity Loss 4.2.2 Extinction Risk of Corals 4.3 Coral Reef Recovery After Disturbances 4.3.1 Disturbance Types and Impacts 4.3.2 Coral Reef Recovery 4.4 Coral Reef Resilience 4.4.1 Ecological Resilience 4.4.2 Coral Reef Resilience Indicators 4.4.3 Coral Reef Resilience Assessment 4.4.4 Coral Reef Resilience-Based Management 4.5 Coral Reef Connectivity 4.5.1 Concepts of Marine Population Connectivity 4.5.2 Ocean Circulation Drives Population Connectivity 4.5.3 Population Connectivity Among Corals and Reef Fishes 4.5.4 Applied Population Connectivity 4.6 Coral Reef Bioerosion 4.6.1 The Role of Bioerosion in Reef Development 4.6.2 Endolithic Bioerosion 4.6.3 External Bioerosion 4.6.4 Environmental Impacts on Bioerosion 4.7 Coral Reef Refugia Under Global Change 4.7.1 Coral Reef Refugia Concepts 4.7.2 Coral Reef Refugia from Thermal Stress 4.7.3 Coral Reef Refugia from Ocean Acidification 4.8 Marine Protected Area Networks (MPA Networks) 4.8.1 MPA Network Design Principles 4.8.2 Spatial Variations in MPA Networks 4.8.3 Fisheries in MPA Networks 4.8.4 Assessment and Conservation in MPA Networks 4.9 Passive and Active Restoration of Degraded Coral Reefs 4.9.1 Passive Coral Restoration 4.9.2 Direct Coral Transplantation 4.9.3 Coral Gardening 4.9.4 Substratum Addition (Artificial Reefs) 4.9.5 Substratum Stabilization and Enhancement 4.9.6 Coral Larval Enhancement References 5: Biogeochemical Dynamics of Coral Reef Systems 5.1 Introduction 5.2 External Driving Forces of Coral Reefs 5.2.1 Solar Radiation 5.2.2 Tide and Waves 5.2.3 Winds and Monsoon 5.2.4 Water Circulation and Currents 5.2.5 Land-Sourced Influxes 5.3 Sources of Chemical Elements in Coral Reef Systems 5.3.1 Terrestrial Material Inputs 5.3.2 Atmospheric Depositions 5.3.3 Coastal Upwelling 5.3.4 Recycling Within the System 5.4 Major Pathways of Biogeochemical Cycles 5.4.1 Autotrophic Production and Symbiosis 5.4.2 Heterotrophic Processes 5.4.3 Coupling Between Pelagic and Benthic Sub-systems 5.4.4 Food Web Dynamics 5.5 Interactions Between Biogeochemistry and Coral Reef Ecosystems 5.5.1 Impact of Nutrients on the Coral Ecosystems 5.5.2 Carbon Chemistry and Calcification 5.5.3 Mass Flow and Relationship with Energy Budgets 5.5.4 Discussion 5.6 Prospect of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Perturbations 5.6.1 Global Warming and Ocean Acidification 5.6.2 Impacts of Sea Level Rise 5.6.3 Roles of Human Society from Land- and Marine-Based Activities 5.6.4 Feedbacks to the Earth System 5.7 Modeling Approach to the Biogeochemistry of Coral Reefs 5.7.1 Quantitative Description of the Coral Symbiosis 5.7.2 Reef-Scale Model for Coral Ecosystems 5.7.3 Examples of Numerical Simulations in Coral System 5.7.4 Future Perspectives 5.8 Summary and Way Forward References 6: Environmental and Climate Proxies Embedded in Coral Skeletons 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Anatomy of Coral Skeleton 6.1.2 Basic Chemical Reactions Leading to Aragonite Formation in Coral 6.1.3 Solubility of CaCO3 and Water Temperature 6.1.4 Biomineralization Process for Aragonite Precipitation in Coral 6.1.5 Organic Matter in Coral Skeleton 6.2 Coral Core Sampling and Handling for Further Chemical and Isotopic Measurements 6.2.1 Retrieval of Coral Core and Slab Cutting 6.2.2 Slab Cleaning 6.2.3 Micro-Sampling 6.2.4 Subsample Cleaning for Chemical and Isotope Analysis 6.3 Intra- and Inter-skeletal and Colony Variability in the Chemical and Isotope Compositions 6.3.1 Intra-skeletal Variations 6.3.2 Inter-colony and Gender Variability 6.3.3 Calcite Formation Within the Aragonite Lattice 6.4 Age Model 6.4.1 Annual Growth Band 6.4.2 14C Dating (t1/2 = 5730 Years) (Valid for < 5 x t1/2 Years Old Coral) 6.4.3 230Th Dating (Valid < 123,000 Years Old Coral) 6.4.4 210Pb Dating (Valid